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Fri, 09 Feb 2018 23:13:51 GMTen-usKJames199http://the-w.com/slcr-308-winterruption-2018-january-19-20-2018
http://the-w.com/slcr-308-winterruption-2018-january-19-20-2018Fri, 09 Feb 2018 23:13:51 GMTThe short version is that this was all good and you can just go ahead and stop here if you want. I kind of want.

For the third straight year, the Regina Folk Festival and the Broadway Theatre in Saskatoon teamed up to put on Winterruption, a slate of concerts meant to inject some warmth and light into the coldest, darkest time of the year. And for the second straight year, they missed the mark and accidentally dropped their reprieve from winter into an unseasonably pleasant weekend. Fine by me - I really like the idea of a fun concert in the middle of -40C but I don't actually want to leave the house for it.

In past years, Saskatoon got a number of extra bands at their Winterruption and it felt like Regina was getting the short end of the stick. This time, apart from Chad VanGaalen making a Saskatoon stop, it seemed like we got pretty equal lineups. I wonder why this pleases me? I should want us all to get more, not just for them to get less. But if we go down this philosophical rabbit hole, I won't hit my goal of finishing this review by the time this Apple Music Alternative Hits: 1991 playlist ends. Or so I thought until I looked just now to double-check the title and saw that this thing is three-and-a-half hours long. I guess I can put some time into this. Too bad I won't.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 18

Begonia was at the Exchange with Close Talker and Bears in Hazenmore. For those whose tastes are a bit rockier, the Revival Music Room hosted Duchess Says with Partner and The Florals. And I didn't go to any of this. It's like you didn't even read the dates up there.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 19

Indeed, I skipped the Thursday concerts, heading out to my first triple-bill of the weekend at the Artesian. I wish I had stories to tell you since I've been looking at this blank text file for like 20 minutes. Somewhere in there, I gave up on Alternative Hits: 1991 since obviously THAT'S the issue here. But I still got nothing - I bought a ticket a while back and showed up at the appointed time and showed them my ticket and they let me in and I sat in a pew at the back of the room. I think that's pretty much how this is supposed to go. Mika wasn't particularly interested in this show and I didn't see anyone I knew, though I know Rob was there somewhere. Carver too, which is a given for Tom Wilson shows. Allow me to paraphrase what Wilson said from the stage: "No matter where I go, I don't have a friend named Carver. I come to Regina, and I have a friend named Carver. It's like the name of a Coen Brothers' character. I know Carver does bad things but I don't need to know what they are."

But that would come later in the evening. To start with, we had local country(ish) singer-songwriter Belle Plaine. I'd seen her only once before - a little more than a year ago during BreakOut West - which is kind of nuts considering how many shows she does around these parts. I really enjoyed that last set and liked her even better the second time around, where she had the chance to show off more of her original songs and had a bit more of an opportunity to tell stories. Last time, I said "would go again" and that hasn't changed. Would be more eager to go again, in fact.

Next up was Mariel Buckley, in case you prefer your solo lady country singers to come from Alberta instead of Saskatchewan, though it sounds like she spends enough time here that she basically counts anyway. There was nothing wrong with her set but it didn't really grab me, mostly for the stupidest, most me-centric reason; basically, her voice reminded me a lot of someone I know. And I don't like that someone very much. Such a dumb reason! If anyone out there actually listens to any of the bands I write about, give her album a spin and let me know if I was blind to something great. (And if I know you in real life and not just the internet, listen to this and tell me who you think I'm talking about. I mean, I'll never tell you if you're right but I really want to hear your guesses.)

Last time I saw Tom Wilson, he read draft excerpts from his upcoming memoir. If you ever get the chance to hear him tell his life story, you should, it's really interesting and he's a gifted storyteller. Now the book is out and I was planning on picking it up at this show, but it was being sold by Chapters who set up a little shop in the basement. And if I'm not handing money to the artist and I'm just getting it from Chapters, I can get it from any Chapters, you know? Plus, they left before his set anyway. And I didn't really want to give up my spot to go get it with no guarantees I'd still have my space upon my return. And this is too many words about not buying a book or even trying to do so, when there are so many more interesting things I don't do.

Apart from calling out Carver, Wilson's set was split pretty evenly between music and stories. Both were enjoyable, but at one point he was concerned that we were thinking, "Jesus, the Junkhouse guy wouldn't stop reading at us."

I wonder if Junkhouse is ever still a thing? I've now got Tom Wilson, Lee Harvey Osmond, and Blackie and the Rodeo Kings under my belt, but I've never seen Junkhouse. Time for some procrastination Googling, my favourite kind: according to Wikipedia, Junkhouse "still performs together occasionally," though seemingly not since 2009 (so, VERY occasionally) and guitarist Dan Achen has since passed away. And Wilson was in a band called The Florida Razors that broke up in the 80s. I guess I'm never completing that Tom Wilson bingo card.

ANYWAY. Show good. Wilson writes great stories to begin with, and he has a voice that makes everything he says sound epic. Good combo. And while some of the stories were repeated from last time - they kind of had to be, since they're central to what his book is about - there was lots I hadn't heard before too. As for the songs, there was a mix between some Lee Harvey Osmond songs that he's played here before, a few others from throughout his career, and a couple covers.

With Wilson, I really kind of missed out on his whole career up until a few years ago and that's where I'd still be if not for my habit of going to pretty much any show for any reason. Now I see him every time he comes through town and I look forward to it more each time.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 20

For this night, we were at the Exchange, which had been the plan all along, but for some reason, I'd been convinced it was two nights at the Artesian up until I saw some signs at the Tom Wilson show that indicated otherwise. So once again, I was dumb, and could have lived my whole life without anyone ever knowing about it, but I had to tell you just the same.

This show was very sold out, with a number of folks online looking to buy tickets. Some people thought they could get in at the door. They were denied. I felt bad for the girl ahead of us - her two friends had tickets, but she didn't - and they drove. She took a disappointing early cab ride home.

The evening's host was a local community radio DJ. You may remember him from his interminable introduction of Sloan at the Gateway Festival two years ago. That is, if you happen to be Jeff or Mika, you may remember him. The rest of you probably don't. It was a hilariously lengthy introduction but probably you had to be there to appreciate it. Anyway, on this night, he was called into service at the last minute. He was there as a fan but the scheduled host no-showed and he was asked to fill in. He did a fine job with no advance warning.

It didn't go so well for him once before. First up was Megan Nash, and apparently at some previous gig, he mistakenly introduced her as Megan Lane, a different local singer. They both joked about this and he took great care to get it right this time. In his defense, I think I had them mixed up in my head too because the person on stage was very much not who I was expecting. However, she quickly won me over with her songs and her charmingly quirky personality, and I'd have to say she was the most delightful surprise of the weekend. Though it should be noted that the aforementioned quirkiness may have been exacerbated by her being all hopped up on Buckley's Mixture. For my non-Canadians, Buckley's is a cough syrup that's advertised with the tagline, "It tastes awful, but it works." True story: the first time I had it, I actually went lightheaded. I was asked to describe what it's like and the best I could come up with was "imagine watery jizz that tastes like rubbing alcohol and a pine tree." Nash was swigging this from the bottle onstage and still managing to play music, which is impressive. "I think there's a limit to how much of this you're supposed to have," she said, probably too late.

Between sets, our actual host arrived. I don't know how she got to be the host - I'm guessing community radio? I do know her name, because she said it several times. She didn't really bother doing anything to introduce Lindi Ortega, though. I have a whole new respect for the guy from earlier, to say nothing of the usual parade of CBC Radio "climate specialists" they normally get for these things.

After that underwhelming introduction, Lindi Ortega took the stage. I was surprised she wasn't going on last. We'd seen her a few years ago, opening for k.d. lang, and I've seen her name pop up all over the place. Plus, I'm pretty sure she was responsible for attracting the cowboys that were scattered throughout the audience. I was looking forward to seeing her in a smaller venue, but I don't know what it was - something just didn't click with me. She was fine, her husband/guitarist was fine (as a guitarist, I mean; I assume he's good at husbanding though I don't have evidence one way or the other). It was all good, but for me it ultimately was just there, though I really can't complain about anything. Apart from the people in the audience who paid to be there and then refused to watch the show or shut up while it was happening, but you've heard that one before. There was one heroic lady who told a group of babbling idiot girls to shut up and that was appreciated. Though not enough; you should get a parade for something like that.

Finally, we had Mo Kenney, and there were no major mishaps during her introduction, though I'm only saying that because I asked Mika if the host had mistakenly said "Kennedy" but she said she didn't think so. I heard Kennedy but I may have been just expecting something to go wrong at this point.

Anyway, I've seen Mo Kenney a few times now and I say the same thing every time, so I'll say it again; namely, she has a ton of songs that I like and she gets more confident as a performer every time out. The shows are always very similar, but despite that, I think this time was the best of the bunch. Not only did I get to hear a bunch of her new stuff live for the first time, but I got all my older favourites too - none were missed.

Really, I wound up feeling about Mo Kenney the same I did after seeing Corb Lund last year. Neither would be the first name to come to mind when I list my very favourite musicians, but when you factor in how many great songs they have and how much I enjoy their music, they both should really be in that mix. And I feel the need to say something more than that as a conclusion, but we're rapidly approaching Winterruption 2019 and this thing still isn't done. Except now it is.

Almost a Full Moon came out 16 years ago which seems impossible to me. I can't understand how so many years have passed so quickly. Rather than contemplating death's swift approach, I'll lie to myself and chalk it up to the album's re-releases throwing off my sense of time. A year after the first version of Almost a Full Moon came out, it was re-issued with two "new" songs - Watching the Fires (originally on a tour-only CD) and Silent Night. Then, in 2011, to mark the album's 10th anniversary, Hawksley re-recorded the whole album and called it Full Moon Eleven. I love Hawksley but this is his one album that I just don't understand or enjoy at all. Most of the songs on the original Full Moon are celebratory and joyous. None of the lyrics were changed for Full Moon Eleven, but all of the music was re-recorded and it's slow and dour. It works fine for Merry Christmas (I Love You), though it's not that different from the original version anyway. But for the other songs, it sucks all the fun and life out of them. It's like someone killed Hawksley's dog and made him watch, and then made him re-record the album right after. I'm listening to Full Moon Eleven now, as I do seemingly once every Christmas to see if I like it any better, and nope. It doesn't help that the original is one of my favourite Hawksley albums. The best I can call Eleven is "unnecessary." A few days before this concert, it suddenly struck me that we might get the Full Moon Eleven versions of the songs and I was concerned. Thankfully, I needn't have worried.

They promised doors at 7:30 and show at 8:00, and since it was a Regina Folk Festival show, you know that's likely to be close to correct. We got to the Exchange right at 7:30 and the line was out the door and just about around the corner. We took our place in line and slowly made our way inside. Ahead of us was (I'm guessing) a father and his young son. "Smell that? It smells like popcorn," said the dad. "Smells like popcorn AND Coke," said the kid. This made me so happy. I hope he got his snacks. I hope he found the toque that he lost shortly after entering.

Mark asked me to save seats for him and Arlette, and I succeeded expertly by showing up at least one whole minute before they did. Maybe one and a half! This was a seated show, and we grabbed a row of four about two-thirds back, stage right. We got drinks (iced teas and ginger ale! another hard partying Regina Saturday night) and settled in for the show.

Sheila Coles from the CBC emceed the show for the last time before her upcoming retirement. She was really nice to me that one time she interviewed me on live radio about my stolen marshmallow beanbag and how did that ever happen anyway? Life is weird. Anyway, she's a local fixture and hopefully she has a fun time traveling and whatnot.

There was no opener and Hawksley took the stage right on time. It was just him on guitar and Leith Fleming-Smith on keyboard (and, for two songs, trumpet). I quite enjoy Hawksley's usual pianist, Mr. Lonely, and am skeptical of any change, but Fleming-Smith did a fine job.

The first half of the show was the original Full Moon album, in order. Meaning that we were kicking the show off with Claire Fontaine, one of my favourite Hawksley songs ever. Like a lot of the songs on this "Christmas" album, it's not very Christmassy. Mika describes it as "Christmas-adjacent." It's a love song to a pad of paper (or its namesake, at least) that happens to very briefly mention Christmas. Basically, Hawksley could have ended after the first song and I'd have gotten my money's worth.

This is, of course, a lie. I wanted to hear the whole album. But you understand.

For as much as I love Claire Fontaine, it seemed like 3 Generations was the crowd favourite. I suppose it's the most overtly Christmassy, and sentimental while still being... I dunno, rollicking? That seems like a good word for it. A word Hawksley would appreciate.

I feel like at this show, I saw him do some of the Christmas songs live for the first time, but I'm just not sure. I know I've seen him do Claire Fontaine twice before (I looked it up), and he did four other songs when playing with Stuart McLean's Vinyl Cafe. I know I've seen him play A House (Or Maybe a Boat) before, since this was the first time I've seen him (correctly) sing "a couple of clementines" instead of "a bottle of clementines."

On that note, I will say that I've never seen a musician who flubs more lines than Hawksley. At least once at every show I've seen going back years now. I've also read interviews where he talks about how difficult he finds it to remember lyrics, and he never takes requests during shows for that reason. Tonight, he got lost and had to restart both The First Snow of the Year and You and the Candles. It doesn't bother me; it's just one of those things that happen at live shows and I like unique moments. I can see where some folks might not be so into it, though I think Hawksley is charismatic enough that he can turn it into a positive.

After playing through the album, there was an intermission wherein Hawksley and Leith did very sweaty one-armed pushups while we all took a break. I visited a bit with some folks - talked a bit with Rob (or was at least present while Mark and Arlette did so - I love chairs but they get in the way of mingling), ran into Mary and Chris, waved at Erin. I also checked out the Stuff Table at Mika's insistence - I wasn't going to bother but she's right, I'd have been real sad if they had something exclusive and I missed out. No luck, though. 7 CDs, two records, and Hawksley's kids' book. All stuff I have at home. So instead I got a Diet Pepsi; also something I have at home, but I got all hepped up on consumerism and it was cheap.

Also during intermission, the Exchange played Andy Shauf over the sound system. I mentioned in my recent review of Shauf's show here that Hawksley was a fan. When he came back out, he said it was intimidating to hear Shauf's songs right before having to play. He even mentioned that growing up, his musical idol was Bruce Cockburn, and that he struggled with his early songwriting because, in essence, if a song wasn't going to measure up to Cockburn's, what's the point? And now Shauf's music made him feel the same way. Quite the strong endorsement (and very well-received by the hometown crowd).

For the second half - I'm actually thinking there were only five songs. By my recollection, we had Winter Bird, Watching the Fires, You and the Candles, Autumn's Here, Safe & Sound. Mark, you're one of only two people who read these things. Am I wrong?

I mean, there was a lot more than that, but I'm talking songs here. Hawksley spent a lot of time telling stories, as ever. I think it was in the first half of the evening where he told the story of him and his brother spending time with their grandma as kids - I've heard that one probably 10 times now but it's delightful every time, and there are always new little flourishes. This time, there were more details about Eaton's. And Hawksley's dad's butter knife.

In the second half, though, he told us about writing Watching the Fires and how it was the first song he wrote where he was satisfied with the result and thought that maybe this career in music might be possible after all (and how the song later got shoehorned onto one of the Full Moon re-releases and it didn't feel like it really fit). He said that "not every song can be great, some of them are-" and here he played the theme from The Greatest American Hero and I may have laughed way too loudly upon realizing what it was.

He also talked about HGTV for what had to be a solid 20 minutes. Dude has spent some serious time thinking about House Hunters International. Beautiful people with unloved entranceways and Arborite countertops.

Near the end of the evening, he said that he and Leith needed to go to bed and someone laughed way too loudly at what barely passed as unintentional innuendo. This led to Hawksley saying "yes, sleeping IS funny" and launching into a new song that was about - and one assumes was called - Farty Sleeper, though it was also about Grandpa's riding mower. I don't know if he was making it up on the spot, but he did promise that he'd never record it. We could listen to it as much as we wanted on the "Spotify of your mind." Then he played a second new song - again, I'm guessing on the title here, but let's go with Spotify of Your Mind. It's about the song Farty Sleeper.

Mika made me guess what the encore would be and I wasn't at all confident in my pick of Safe & Sound but I nailed it. This is another of my all-time favourite Hawksley songs and was a great version of it. A few lines in, and Hawksley asked the crowd to sing along. For parts, Hawksley dropped out to let the audience be heard. It was a really nice moment. It's a mellower song so it was almost more like a choir than what you'd hear at a rock concert. Quiet, too. I sang along but you could hear individual voices really clearly so I mostly kept it under my breath. Nobody needs that. There was also a great keyboard solo in the middle of the song, giving Leith his best chance of the evening to show off.

And that was it. Had a great night, as I always do at Hawksley's shows. The crowd helped a lot. Not just the singing; after a few shows that I'll generously call under-attended, this one was sold out and people were into everything. Hawksley seemed appreciative and said he needed to come back more than once every few years. That sounds like the kind of thing he'd say to every crowd at every show but I'm willing to let myself believe the lie.

Sure enough, Fitzgerald was here on Wednesday, not Thursday. I even wrote down Wednesday in the text file I use to organize my life (if only this phone had a calendar app), but for some reason, I was convinced the show was on Thursday. Never one to wisely hide my foolishness, I thanked the Exchange for saving me from a sad Thursday evening discovery. They replied, "Glad we did! Especially since Thursday is Austrian metal band Belphegor, so pretty different than MBF unless he?s really changed directions."

In fairness, I'd pay to see MBF play Austrian metal at least once.

Anyway, for a dirt cheap $10 ticket, I somehow found myself at the Exchange on the correct night. Mika was in school so I was flying solo again. I prepared myself for a raucous evening of misbehaviour by grabbing a raspberry iced tea - the kind with real sugar and everything (on a Wednesday?!) - and went to find myself a chair. As luck would have it, I again ran into Rob and his wife, who once again let me crash their night out. They were joined by Carver and Rob actually properly introduced us to each other, ending a years-long running joke I had with myself. (I'm lots of fun.)

Regina's own Danny Olliver was added as an opener earlier in the day. The last time I saw him was also in an opening spot for Fitzgerald, who produced Olliver's albums. He played a short set of singer-songwriter type stuff - kind of on the folkier side - while showing off some impressive guitar work. Not much different than the last time I saw him, but I liked that time and enjoyed this round too.

Though really, if this set is to be remembered for anything, it'll be salmon. Olliver took audience questions - because that always goes well - and someone asked him what his favourite food was. He said salmon and was immediately cut off by a girl at a nearby table not-quietly-enough exclaiming "oh God, I love salmon too." They then tried to have a back-and-forth about salmon but the table quickly resumed talking amongst itself (about salmon) and the show went on.

At least salmon table was invested. Somewhat. It was not a particularly lively or enthusiastic crowd all night. When Olliver said "Are you ready for Michael Bernard Fitzgerald," you could hear crickets. The crowd was a little bigger than for Nomadic Massive, but there, it seemed like people collectively decided "there aren't many people here, we need to make up for it in enthusiasm." There was no such thought at this show. MBF later said "you do not seem like a crowd that is interested in answering questions."

The two openers both complemented Fitzgerald well. In Olliver, you could hear traces of MBF's folkier side, and the second opener, The Middle Coast, were stylistically a lot closer to Fitzgerald's more upbeat songs. I'd call them a three-piece from Winnipeg, but there was a pillar blocking the far right hand side of the stage for me, so I'll just assume that the two people I could see were actually talking to someone else. Could have been twenty people behind that pillar. Or maybe they're a duo and a robot or a tape deck or a ghost? However it shakes out, all three (?) took turns on lead vocals, and they did their best to bring up the energy level of a room that wasn't real into cooperating. I liked these folks and would see them again. They earned bonus points for talking up local favourite eateries (even if their pronunciation gave their out-of-towner status away) and for disparaging their own album cover, a shot of the three of them making dinner (it was curry!) taken by someone who, I can only assume, was squatting atop the fridge. Sounds both dangerous and unsanitary, if you ask me.

One brief break and mere moments later, the Middle Coast returned, serving as MBF's band - now with a keyboard player who could possibly have been there all along (see above, re: pillar). They all did a fine job in this role and, not being a musician, I'm always a little amazed at that sort of thing. Sure, we'll learn an entire set of your tunes and play them flawlessly for a three-week tour - never before and never again. I mean, I know they're not super musically complex songs or anything but that still seems daunting to me. But the only instrument I can play is one loud piercing note on a tin whistle that I use to scare the cat sometimes.

We were promised some new songs and we got them! Always a treat to hear new stuff from a favourite singer. We were not promised any old songs, so no promise was broken - I'm not sure he played anything that came out before his 2015 album Yes. (Okay some of those songs were on an earlier EP but that detracts from my point so shut it.) Luckily, I like his two newest albums - though the older tunes would have been welcome too.

I didn't take notes but the more energetic songs included I Wanna Make it With You, This Isn't It, and Last Train to Georgia, which was probably the standout to me. It's never been in my favourites of his but I got a new appreciation for it on this night. The folkier songs included Follow, One Love, Love is an Easy Thing to Miss, and I think he played Reach You? Maybe? I've been listening to all my MBF songs on shuffle while writing this and may have confused myself. I feel like he did play Reach You and it was the only song from before Yes but who can tell now? Rob or Carver, maybe. I wonder if they're available at 12:15am for factchecking.

I didn't list a ton of songs up there, and it was a short set, clocking in at just around an hour. Fitzgerald never seems to play for too long, at least when I see him. I'd have happily listened a bit longer, but I do appreciate someone doesn't leave 'em wanting less, and I can't imagine the crowd was particularly inspiring. At one point, MBF addressed a couple who'd just gotten engaged and said that they were going to be at the show - no response. Then he talked about someone's girlfriend's birthday - also no response. Then he vowed to quit paying attention to things people say to him on Facebook. Not a crowd that's interested in answering questions, indeed. At least he got a good laugh whenever he mentioned salmon.

For the record, I did not spend my Thursday night with Austrian metal band Belphegor. Instead, after work, I went to Costco. Much more expensive. Harder to navigate through the crowds. Worse parking. To be fair, Belphegor probably doesn't sell iTunes cards at 20% off, but it would be unfair to ask them to.]]>KJames199http://the-w.com/slcr-305-regina-symphony-orchestra-feat-tanya-tagaq-november-25-2017
http://the-w.com/slcr-305-regina-symphony-orchestra-feat-tanya-tagaq-november-25-2017Mon, 04 Dec 2017 03:30:42 GMT"whatever made 20-year-old me think I should start reviewing concerts" - Pat was drunk and it was funny and I wanted people to laugh at him, that was mostly it

Anyway, this was part of the Regina Symphony's Masterworks series, a performance of Dvorák New World Symphony (should that be "Dvorák's" when you're using it in a sentence?). My symphony-going experience, because I am a mature grown-up adult, is mostly limited to one-off novelties. Video game themes, or songs from kids shows, or the orchestra is accompaniment to mainstream pop/rock musicians (Ben Folds, Sarah Slean, Crash Test Dummies). Seeing that Tanya Tagaq was here, I think I was expecting something closer to those latter performances. This wasn't that. Mika said that the evening was basically exactly what she was expecting, so I attribute this to me seeing Tagaq's name and doing no further research at all.

I was surprised to find, when we got there, that we were sitting in the front row. I mean, I chose the seats, so it shouldn't have surprised me, but that was five months ago now. I forget things. The online shopping experience through the Symphony's website is not ideal - it's tricky to pick the seats you want. I could call in or stop by their offices, but if I'm going to spend 20 minutes going back on forth on price vs. location, I'd like to be alone with my shame, thanks. Also, when you get your tickets emailed to you, they look like printouts of a website from 1996, with lots of blue underlined Arial text. These particular tickets also had a space at the bottom with the text, "A message from our Venue." I guess the Conexus Arts Centre had nothing to say to me.

Anyway, they were good seats or not so good seats, depending on what you wanted to see. Not so great if you wanted to see the brass section, real good if you wanted to watch the conductor and the cellos and the violins and Tanya Tagaq. Also real good if you wanted to compare the shininess of everyone's shoes. The conductor? Very shiny shoes.

Look, I'm not even going to try to seriously critique anything here. I enjoyed everything and have no deep thoughts about most of the music beyond "that was nice" and "maybe I should have dressed up at least a little." Thank goodness they hand out programs so I can make a half-assed attempt to at least spell things right. That said, please note that putting the accent on the R in Dvorák is not going to happen and that is how it is. Dude's dead, he doesn't care.

The trumpet concerto was commissioned for Canada 150 and performed by symphonies across Canada throughout 2017, so it was neat to hear the one time it was performed here. The featured musician was the regular Principal Trumpet of the orchestra; though he's a local (and a he), they still gave him a bouquet of flowers when he was done. He seemed very surprised.

Of the four pieces, I was unsurprisingly most interested in Qiksaaktuq; that was the one featuring Tanya Tagaq. She's an Inuit throat singer who won the Polaris Prize a few years back, and this piece was described as a lament for missing and murdered Indigenous women. This was very moving and very unique - I gather that semi-improvisational pieces with two conductors and a throat singer are not so common. This was well worth the cost of admission alone, which is good since it was the reason we were there. It did seem like a fair number of people left once Tagaq was done.

The day before, Mika told me that the fourth movement of the New World Symphony was the inspiration for the music from Star Wars and I was supposed to let her know if I could hear the influence. Sort of, though I don't know if I'd have noticed it if I hadn't been prompted. Really, if I heard any John Williams in there, it was one brief part that clearly inspired the theme to Jaws.

And that was our grand symphony adventure. Honestly, if I'd fully realized what the night was going to entail, I wouldn't have planned a write-up for it since I have no business doing so and it's so far removed from a normal concert. But here we are. I did enjoy it! Would go again, which is good, since they're doing selections from West Side Story in May and someone might have opinions about whether we should go to that. Would probably at least wear a shirt with a collar. Would prefer to not sit in the front row.

The last time I saw Corb Lund at the casino, you may remember that I complained about all the big-ass trucks in the parking lot. It turns out that I didn't know from big-ass trucks; when you go see a country singer while Agribition is on, it's a whole 'nother level. Of trucks. As is becoming tradition, I composed and sang a song to myself during the ever-frustrating drive through the casino parkade. It had swears.

I've mostly never been to Agribition. Doesn't seem like my thing. One time I walked past a bunch of closed exhibits to go see Willie Nelson at the Brandt Centre, but I don't think that counts. I know very little about it other than when it's on, you can't find a hotel room in town. Folks from all over the province come in big-ass trucks to see... I don't know, whatever there is to see at an agricultural exhibition. They also like going to country shows.

I got to the casino with 10 minutes to spare and met up with Jason and Melissa in the balcony. The last Corb show at the casino had floor seating too, which wasn't quite ideal for a crowd that wanted to get drunk and rowdy. This time, they'd left the floor as standing-room, which... again, not quite ideal. You can't win, casino. Earlier in the day, I read that this show and tour was called "BS With CL" - instead of a full band, Corb was going to be out there by himself with just a guitar. There was a phone number where you could text Corb your questions and he'd answer some of them and tell stories as the show went on. I thought it was a little odd that there was no mention of this in any of the casino's advertising for the show (at least, nothing that I saw). Had I not seen that one Facebook post, I'd have been expecting a normal concert. Don't get me wrong - I'd rather see something unique. I just think if an artist is going to be doing something markedly different from normal, you might want to tell people before they buy tickets. The casino is very upfront about Weird Al's upcoming show being a significant departure from his usual shenanigans, and Saskatoon's Broadway Theatre used the BS With CL name and description in advertising, so I don't know what happened here.

I wasn't sure if we were getting an opener, but the show was kicked off by Mike Plume. I knew the name, not sure from where. He's pals with Corb and I suspect if you like one, you'd like them both. He sang a short set with a lot of Canadiana - songs about hockey and Stompin' Tom and working in Fort Mac and Remembrance Day and the country itself. It seemed like he won the crowd over by the end of it - the ode to Stompin' Tom was a particular favourite and has been stuck in my head off and on since then.

Corb was out after a noticeably brief intermission, and yep, the whole set was just him and a guitar (apart from a few songs where he was joined by Plume, so it was two guys with guitars). I don't think you could complain about the setlist - it was packed with old and new favourites and there wasn't much you could have been left wanting. Looking over Corb's discography now, it occurs to me that 1) I've listened to a fair bit of his music, 2) it's real good, and 3) he sampled pretty evenly from all his records. Really, if you wanted the Corb Lund starter kit, this setlist was perfect. The biggest reactions were saved for Five-Dollar Bill and The Truck Got Stuck, as well as anything that mentioned Saskatchewan or places therein (Hurtin' Albertan, Long Gone to Saskatchewan, and the one Plume song they did together, The Big American Headliner). Really, between Lund and Plume, there's no way I've been to a show with more local references, and they're both no-good Albertans. Plume may be a transplant from New Brunswick, but still. No-good Albertan.

As far as the BS part went, there really wasn't a ton. Corb had his phone on stage and checked it for questions, but there wasn't much more talking than a normal show. He went into a little detail about Talkin' Veterinarian Blues, Family Reunion, The Truck Got Stuck, and personal favourite S Lazy H. A lot of his stories centred on which of the songs are based on true stories. Answer: a lot of them, though they have made-up parts too. Which is what you'd expect.

I thought this was great, but it did seem like maybe this wasn't the show the Agribition crowd wanted. You could hear an awful lot of distracting talking coming from the folks on the floor. I think there was a pretty sizable contingent that wanted to get drunk and rowdy and this didn't really provide the opportunity. I mean, some did anyway, but nowhere near what you'd expect. I really dig Corb but find his fans to be a bit much sometimes. I keep going to see him, since he's great and all, but you need to prepare yourself for the drunken yahoos you may encounter. This seemed like it was less of a show for them and more for me, so, y'know, no complaints here.

I say "Corb Lund fans" as if I'm not one, but somehow, Corb became one of my favourite musicians. I didn't even really realize it until I was thinking about it today and realized just how much of his stuff I know well and enjoy. I've liked him for a long time, but I wouldn't have ever thought to list him among my very favourites, but somehow, that happened and I didn't even realize it.

Or to put it all another way, enjoyed it. Want to see him again. ]]>KJames199http://the-w.com/slcr-303-andy-shauf-november-18-2017
http://the-w.com/slcr-303-andy-shauf-november-18-2017Wed, 29 Nov 2017 00:43:21 GMTFor those who don't know the name, he's a singer-songwriter from here in Regina. The first time we saw him was in 2013, when he opened for Mo Kenney at a half-full Artful Dodger. By that point, he was already well known around these parts. We later saw him at the 2015 Regina Folk Festival and then again opening for Whitehorse in 2016. In all cases, I thought he was good and very likable and I wanted him to do well, but there was always something that didn't quite work for me - he's real quiet, and I sometimes found him hard to hear and that everything kinda sounded the same. He's one of many people where I thought I could really get into him if only I spent some time with his albums, but we all know I'll talk about that but likely never do it.

I did think he was best suited to small, intimate venues. This time, he was headlining at the Exchange, which seemed to be the ideal place. That it was a sold-out hometown show could only help.

I suspect this will be the last time we can see Shauf at a place this small. Even now, I'm guessing he only played the Exchange because he used to work there. They said he was the only person ever to serve as caretaker and also headline a show there. This was the second last stop on his tour; the only remaining date was in Toronto's Massey Hall. When I looked, you could only buy single seats for that one.

Watching his rise has really been something. When Hawksley Workman discovered Shauf and praised him, I wasn't that surprised. But to see Reggie Watts do the same thing, it really illustrated how far Shauf was going.

Several days before they show, they announced that Steph Cameron would be opening. This was a delightful surprise. We saw her at the very same 2015 Regina Folk Festival. As opposed to all the other Regina Folk Festivals that year. I really liked her short set and later bought her album, Sad-Eyed Lonesome Lady. She was back in Regina only a few weeks ago, opening for Little Miss Higgins, but we were already booked that night, so this was a treat.

Doors opened at 8:00, which really isn't that late, but it feels like it is if you're used to the early-starting concerts the Folk Festival puts on. We got in at around 8:30 and had lots of time to stand around and critique the fashion choices of today's youth. Tye Dillinger's haircut was a standout, as was a jacket that read SAME SHIT, DIFFERENT DAY in large letters on the back. One girl was there in short shorts; I question her wisdom but admire her commitment when it's -20 with the windchill.

Someone from the Board of Directors for the Exchange welcomed us to the show, since this was one of a series of concerts marking their 30th anniversary. She seemed nervous. Didn't need to be. She did fine!

Cameron started around 9:00 and played for about a half-hour, mostly material from her brand new album, Daybreak Over Jackson Street, about her time living in one of Vancouver's worst neighbourhoods. I didn't even know she had a new album, so that was another nice surprise. Or maybe a continuation of the first one. She did a fine job despite a crowd that left something to be desired. Even the folks at the very front were talking and looking at their phones. By now, I should just have a boilerplate paragraph that covers this. You know the deal. If you're going to do that, why don't you just leave? Or not show up in the first place? There are lots of places that won't charge you $25/person cover to stand around and be a dick. But standing dicks notwithstanding, she was real good. Last time I saw her, my verdict was "would see again" and that hasn't changed. Even if she didn't play the one song Mika knew.

Speaking of standing dicks, we had about 45 minutes of standing around time before Shauf and band took the stage. I won't lie to you; I was ready to leave well before this point. The standing, the inattentive crowd, the heat of a packed, sold-out venue, and the fact that I'd never been super into Shauf before were all combining to kill my enthusiasm for the evening, such as it was.

Armed with a full band - including TWO clarinetists, as one does - Shauf returned to his hometown if not quite a conquering hero, at least well on his way. And this was where it all came together for me. Great sound in the venue combined with a crowd that was surprisingly quiet and respectful to create the perfect atmosphere to listen to Shauf's lyrics. Hometown Hero and Wendell Walker became new favourites for me, but I enjoyed all of it.

Shauf's stage presence is quite reserved. He's not someone who will ever put on shows described as electrifying - they're for listening, not for dancing. Throughout this review, I kept looking for the right place to put the term "low-key" since it kind of applies everywhere. But he does display a subtle sense of humour when talking to the crowd which breaks things up a little. Every time I've seen him, he's asked the audience if they have any questions. This time, it was something about Star Trek. I liked it better last time when someone yelled "what do you have against horses?"

You may recall that I saw Bif Naked on the night of the US election - how it is possible that was only a year ago? - and that night, her guitarist was her husband, Snake. If I didn't call him Snake Naked then, I apologize. I should have. Anyway, he's the Snake (or SNAKE) of SNAKEandtheCHAIN. At one point, they got referred to as "SNAKEandtheCHAIN featuring Bif Naked," so I assume the third guy, Kuryakin, is the chain. Or CHAIN. And Bif's just Bif.

I mentioned this last year but here's a quick refresher regarding my feelings about Bif Naked: I used to like some of her stuff before losing interest. It was nice to see her last year, but I didn't leave that show feeling like I'd rekindled my fandom or anything. Still, I was interested to see what her new band was all about.

The show started with Snake and Kuryakin. Snake hooked up an iPhone and lip-synched I Can't Help Falling in Love with You. I guess he did sing some of it, since he tried to sing "take my hand" over the "shall I stay" part. Let's assume they were just going for something silly here.

Bif Naked joined them and they launched into their first proper song, Heavy. Over the kind of music a wrestler would have entered the ring to in 1999, Bif told us, over and over, that her baby, she likes it heavy.

Then she asked who there had a safeword. "MORE is my safeword," said Snake. Did you think that was a clever joke? Would you still think that was a clever joke after a song that repeated it over and over?

Somewhere in the crowd was JP, a guy I know from work. I'd say "a friend from work" but we never actually talk, apart from when I email him to tell him that the Headstones are coming to town, and he emails me back to let me know that he already knew (but thanks). I sent him a note on Facebook. I NEEDED to know his opinion of what we were watching.

Before the next song, Snake Naked said "you can't even look at a woman these days without getting arrested." Now, I'm a reasonable person. I'm willing to accept that this was said in jest. But it sure didn't sound like it, and apart from one fellow who was in vocal agreement, the crowd didn't really seem to know how to take it. This led into a song "about a bad boy named Frankie" who "forgot to thank me" and is "gonna get a spanking." You may note that Frankie, thank me, and spanking all kind of rhyme. We eventually found out that Frankie forgot to thank Bif Naked for, among two other things, "swallowing your cum." This went on for... I mean, it couldn't possibly have been a half-hour, but it didn't feel any less.

Next, Bif started telling a story about how Snake broke free from a Siberian prison to be here today. Mika asked if I'd like to go get drinks in the lobby instead. So we did. The bar in the casino lobby is famously slow. It took over 20 minutes to get our drinks with only maybe 10 people in front of us. I didn't mind. We could have been back in the show lounge listening to SNAKEandtheCHAIN. Things could have been worse.

I will say that some people seemed into the show. These people were wrong, but they definitely existed. Meanwhile, we were throwing around "what the fuck was that," "I feel embarrassed for them," "worst band I've seen in years and maybe ever," "I'm starting to reconsider my feelings about Cage the Elephant," "do you think he's holding Bif Naked hostage," and "but seriously, what the fuck was that?"

On Facebook, JP replied that he'd found a good spot to stand, otherwise he'd have left too. I guess the standing spot wasn't THAT good as we eventually saw him and his brother in the lobby. We traded theories about what we had just seen. Mika suggested that the Headstones owed Bif Naked money and so they had to let her band come on tour.

As we nursed our drinks in the lobby, we could faintly hear that they were playing Bif Naked hits Spaceman and I Love Myself Today. I choose to assume they were done well. I considered going back to listen to them but thought better of it.

I try to be positive when I write these things and I accept that some things just aren't going to be my jam. So I will say that the sound system was good and we could hear all of the insipid repetitive lyrics really clearly. And Bif Naked seems like a really nice lady and I feel kind of bad about this whole thing. But this was terrible.

Drinks done, SNAKEandtheCHAIN (and their banner) gone, we went back into the show lounge. What can I even say about the Headstones after all that? They were exactly what you'd expect and exactly what I wanted from them. Loud, all their hits, all the fan favourites, some new stuff. And a few covers - they did The Gambler which they said they've been playing live ever since doing it in Regina last time and the crowd went nuts for it. And in various songs, they did part of Low Rider and two Hip classics, Blow at High Dough and New Orleans is Sinking. The show sold out a while back and people were really into it.

For a bunch of the early songs, there was one guy whose whole job seemed to be microphone cord wrangler so that Hugh Dillon could run out into the crowd. Eventually they got him a wireless mic. Dillon ran right past us, brushing past me, then came back and was singing Low Rider about four feet from us. This was all very cool.

Fun time, would go again. And yet, I couldn't help but feel they were overshadowed by SNAKEandtheCHAIN. I mean, I enjoyed the Headstones but I'll remember SNAKEandtheCHAIN for years.

On the way out, we walked by someone who said that Hugh Dillon was a badass and that the Headstones would chew up SNAKEandtheCHAIN and spit them out. Which, really, is all you need to know. There's a lesson there about being concise; one I will surely ignore.]]>KJames199http://the-w.com/slcr-301-nomadic-massive-november-10-2017
http://the-w.com/slcr-301-nomadic-massive-november-10-2017Tue, 21 Nov 2017 01:27:43 GMTWhen the day came, I really didn't feel like going. It's cold and icy here, and I was sleepy even though I'd had the day off and didn't do anything more strenuous than grocery shopping and getting a flu shot. As I dozed in front of the TV, I could easily have been talked out of going. But off we went.

We got to the Exchange and once seated, I got us some drinks, popcorn, and 50/50 tickets (didn't win). May as well contribute a little since we got in for free. The popcorn was tasty but I question its proclaimed status as the world's best.

The band hit the stage noting that though the crowd was small, we'd get rowdy. There were, unfortunately, not a ton of people there. Maybe 50 when the show started and not quite 100 at the peak, if I'm guessing. It's a real shame; if people don't come out, the bands won't come back (said the guy who didn't pay to be there). That said, it did seem like the people who were there were determined to make up the difference, with lots of people leaving their seats to go dance at the front of the stage. Some good participation - crowds at Folk Festival-promoted shows (or just shows here in general) sometimes tend to be on the reserved side.

Nomadic Massive bring high-energy rap out of Montréal in multiple languages. You should check that out if it sounds like your thing. Or maybe even if it doesn't? I mean, that's not something I listen to much, but I possibly should, since this was fantastic.

I'm not very familiar with Nomadic Massive so if you want to know what they played, I'm not your guy. I recognized one song and it wasn't even their own - there was a bit of The Choice is Yours by Black Sheep (which I very much appreciated - that album was one of my Grade 10 favourites). They also did part of Alright by Kendrick Lamar but I wouldn't even have picked up on that if Mika hadn't told me. You don't read these for informed opinions.

I'll keep this one short since I have a big ol' review backlog again and because I don't know a thing about things anyway, but this was one of the best shows I've seen this year. Mika went one better, naming it her favourite this year. On the drive home, we talked about how neither of us really felt like spending the night out, but we both had a great time and were feeling energized when it was done. Apparently it was just what we needed.

I note, with some amusement, that my Apple Watch didn't consider the half-hour I spent shoveling snow earlier in the day to be exercise. It did, however, give me credit for butt-dancing in my chair at this show. This is either a testament to how much I enjoyed myself or the inherent unreliability of fitness trackers. I suppose it can be two things.

So once again, I was basically going in blind. However, I did hear that Myles put on a great live show. Of course, I heard that from the advertising FOR said show. Clearly an unbiased source. But whatever, I guess I believed it, I bought a ticket and all.

Telling this story (such as it is) now, I really can't identify why, exactly, I decided to go to this. He's a guy I barely heard of and I only knew one song - which he wouldn't even be able to perform unless he brought a surprise rapper in his carry-on. Plus Mika couldn't go so I was flying solo. I'm not sure what part of this made me think this was a good idea. Though I suppose that's never stopped me before. Apart from all the times where it stopped me.

I got to the Artesian and wandered in at the same time as Mark's friend Rob, who I met at the New Pornographers show and didn't tell you about. We work together, though I don't believe our paths have ever crossed in an official capacity. At any rate, he was there with his wife, and seeing that I was unaccompanied, he invited me to sit with them. What delightful folks! I was pleased to take them up on their offer, though I did keep a seat between us since the place wasn't sold out and I was pretty sure the offer didn't include cuddling. Maybe next time.

The openers were Port Cities. This was a folk trio consisting of three singer-songwriters who've joined forces - Dylan Guthro, Breagh MacKinnon, and Carleton Stone. That last name sounded super familiar to me - some quick Googling confirmed that Hawksley Workman had produced one of Stone's solo albums and he'd talked a fair bit about it when it came out. I feel like I listened to that album back then? Not sure. Though of the three, MacKinnon sounded the most familiar, with a voice exactly like... someone I couldn't place. Still can't.

This was the first night of their tour with Myles and their first time in Regina as a group. They played most of their first album, with Back to the Bottom and On the Nights You Stay Home as a few standouts. The highlight of their short set was the last song, where they all left the stage and performed the last song off-mic, on the floor. That was a great way to close things and make a big impression. I'd see these folks again. And maybe I will? They draw once a year for a free house concert from the names signed up for their email list. I don't know that my house is well suited to that but maybe I could knock out some walls or something.

David Myles is a different sort of guy. He's a folk singer from New Brunswick who has both a Latin Grammy and a Juno for Rap Recording of the Year. In 2017, he released a new album inspired by 50s and 60s rock and country. He once did a 24-stop tour of Saskatchewan without playing Saskatoon or Regina. And his live show is a blast.

Drawing from the new album, the show had the sound of late 50s/early 60s rock, with a diversion into doo-wop (with backing vocals from his very game band) and even a bluegrass take on another of his collaborations with Classified. He also brought out MacKinnon to do a song they'd written together - performed live for the first time ever. In between songs, he told stories and self-deprecating jokes, heaped praise on Port Cities and his band, and came across like the most likable guy ever. It was a high-energy show with a lot of humour, and I quickly went from "I'm not sure why I'm here" to "I'm very glad I'm here" to "next time, I need to get more people here." Great songs, very entertaining, and even a high-tech light show (white Christmas lights wrapped around TWO mics). Highly recommended.

(2 replies)]]>KJames199http://the-w.com/slcr-299-martha-wainwright-october-22-2017
http://the-w.com/slcr-299-martha-wainwright-october-22-2017Wed, 25 Oct 2017 05:27:49 GMTLast week I told you I'd never seen Kris Demeanor before, but it turns out I had, 12 years ago. So glad I write these things down.

Anyway. I bought these tickets last December for a show that was supposed to happen in April. Then it got postponed for reasons. I don't know, I'm not her biographer. She didn't feel like coming to Regina, maybe. Does anyone? Regina in the springtime?

The Artesian sold out in the days before the show. I was glad, because it's a delightful little place and I want it to do well. It did, however, mean we needed to get there early to sort out seating. Mika and I wound up in the front row of the pews at the back, which left us in an ideal spot to greet Mark, Arlette, and Other James as they arrived. It also meant a lot of people shuffling in front of us and no height advantage over the floor seats, so arriving a little earlier might have been ideal. So it goes.

I can't say we felt old at this show. At least two-thirds of the audience looked to be of retirement age. I'm not sure who I expected to see at this concert, but that wasn't it. But as we've established, I was going into this about as ignorant as humanly possible, so the fact that I had expectations at all is a little ridiculous.

I've been all bronchitis'd up since returning from Calgary, which is not ideal for concerts. Or for existing. I don't recommend it. To keep my coughing in check, I stuffed my pockets with a flavour sampler of cough candies and washed them down with a tasty pear cider from the bar. This worked reasonably well so I recommend that you combine all your medicine with alcohol for maximum effect. Science shows it works.

The openers were Mappe Of, making their first ever stop in Regina (while on their first-ever cross-Canada tour). They were described as "folk;" that's not how I'd classify them, but I'm not sure where they fit. Very atmospheric music, lots of falsetto in the vocals, plenty of neat tricks (like playing the electric bass with a bow) to create unique sounds. There were moments of big energy but for the most part, it was something to listen to, not to dance to. It was well suited to the small room, too. Mika said it would be good Sunday morning music. This was all really good and quite interesting; not something I'd want to listen to all the time, but ideal in the right setting. Recommended if you're looking for something a little different. Mark and Arlette were way into this, and they're trustworthy humans.

During the break, I was avoiding social media because I had again skipped out on watching wrestling and I didn't want it spoiled for me. So instead of looking up cute animals on Instagram, I checked Pokémon GO and found that the last of the new Halloween Pokémon that I needed was nearby. Mika said she figured I had ten minutes before Wainwright would start; I caught it and was back with time to spare. I'm always surprised when things work out well, even though half of my concert reviews are just me being surprised when things aren't completely ruined. The quick walk in the cool night air was refreshing too.

Martha Wainwright came out and did a song by herself, just on guitar, before bringing out her band. They joined her for most of the show, but she did a handful of songs with just the pianist. I don't really know which songs, for the most part - remember, I'm dumb - though she mentioned some were from her newest album, Goodnight City, including Around the Bend and two songs about her son Francis.

And I will say what I always say; namely, that this was an enjoyable night out. It wasn't an overly long set - probably about 80 minutes with the encore - but enough to get a good introduction to Wainwright's music without overstaying her welcome. Much like with Sarah Slean last week, the intimate venue and great sound really helped the evening. Also like Slean, Wainwright is very emotive with some vocal flourishes; things that could either make you a bigger fan or push you away. You pick.

She also had more of a sense of humour than I was expecting, telling lots of stories and also sharing that as a recent divorcée, she was finding it very therapeutic to be touring around with her band "talking about cum." You were not expecting that sentence to end that way and neither were we. This got the best delayed reaction I've ever heard - few immediate laughs, but then they kept popping up all over. I like to think that a number of the more elderly fans in attendance didn't quite hear it and needed it explained to them. Hopefully by their kids. Also, her poor bass player was doubled over laughing and also maybe looked a little mortified.

wait

omg

wait

Is the band's NAME Talking About Cum? Because that wasn't how I interpreted it initially but maybe? It fits with how she phrased it, depending on where you put the comma. I don't have proof of this, though. The band wasn't credited on the tickets and posters but I suppose there are community standards that need to be upheld. Unlike, say, here.

Sarah and her band (guitar, bass, drums) started right at 8:00 with no opener. They played two sets that were about 45 minutes each, plus the requisite encore. A lot of the songs came from Slean?s new album, Metaphysics; it looks like she played most of the record. There were also some older songs like Pilgrim and California that (of course) got the best reactions. I did like all the new tunes, though. Slean was on the piano (or the piano-sounding keyboard if you?re a stickler for details) for every song except one - her version of Wayfaring Stranger that opened the second set.

For the encore, Slean first returned by herself and asked for requests. This turned into a remarkably well-organized three-way shouting match between the guy ahead of me who yelled for Book Smart, Street Stupid, someone behind me yelling for Willow, and someone up at the front yelling for Sweet Ones. I knew we weren?t getting Sweet Ones unless the band came back out, so it came down to two. ?Book Smart, that?s interesting,? said Slean. ?Yes,? said the guy, very emphatically. Not like he was excited that she might play it; he was just strongly in agreement. She opted to play it and hoped she wouldn?t forget the words. She only got lost once and the guy helped her out. Then the band came back out and they played Sweet Ones to close the show. That was the big crowd pleaser and I guess it?s her biggest song? I dunno, it?s real good, but I like Lucky Me more and she didn?t play that one. Shoulda yelled.

This was all delightful. For a while now, Slean has been someone that I seem to see every time she?s in town, and then I never listen to her music until the next time I go see her. This was a pleasant reminder that she has some good songs and I should spend more time listening to them. Her band was really good too. And the set lengths were just right for me; I got enough to make it worth the money and it never dragged, plus I wasn?t in the mood to stay out forever.

I will say that I know some people who really dislike Slean and this show wouldn?t have changed their minds. She has some affectations when she talks and sings and that?s part of what puts them off. Last time I saw her, I was sitting near two groups of people; one praised her for being ?emotive? and the other derided her as ?a ham? and though I told that story last time, I can think of no better way to sum up the issue. I can?t say it bugs me, though I see what they?re getting at and it did make me wonder how much of it is a persona and how much is just her.

The venue really upped my enjoyment of the evening. I believe the polite term for ?this place is tiny? is ?an intimate setting.? I might just call it cozy. It?s a nice looking space where you?re never too far from the stage or overrun by idiots. And the sound was fantastic, with the clearest vocals I?ve heard at a show in a long time. The instruments all sounded great too. My next two concerts are also at the Artesian and this pleases me.

While this all was going on, elsewhere in Regina, friends of mine were at the Brandt Centre watching wrestling. I skipped out to watch a tiny lady play piano. I?m not sure this is something that 16-year-old me would be able to fathom. But whatever; they had fun and I had fun.

UPCOMING CONCERTS: ? Martha Wainwright w/Mappe Of (October 22) ? David Myles w/Port Cities (October 24) ? Headstones w/SNAKEandtheCHAIN (November 17) ? Andy Shauf (November 18) ? Corb Lund (November 23) ? Cold Specks w/LA timpa (November 24) ? Tanya Tagaq & the Regina Symphony Orchestra (November 25) ? Hawksley Workman (December 9) ? ?Weird Al? Yankovic w/Emo Philips (June 1)]]>KJames199http://the-w.com/slcr-297-japandroids-october-13-2017
http://the-w.com/slcr-297-japandroids-october-13-2017Thu, 19 Oct 2017 05:30:42 GMTI feel like I?m getting to that point again. Or maybe that?s not quite right. I?ve seen a ton of great stuff lately by artists I know well and really enjoy, but looking at my upcoming shows, there?s an awful lot of ?I?ve heard of this person and this is a thing to do that I?m sure will be pleasant but I don?t really know much about them? coming up. Which is fine, but I may have scheduled in a bit too much of a good thing for myself.

Like these here Japandroids. I?d heard one song - The House that Heaven Built. It?s super great. I?d meant to listen to more of their stuff since I really dig that one song. Never really got around to it. Got a ticket anyway since it was really convenient of them to play the night after Arcade Fire so I could cram a bunch of music into my earholes in one Calgary trip.

But then the day came, and I?ve been walking a ton all week and my feet are now in a state of full rebellion (I complained about my plantar fasciitis last time and I might just keep doing it because it seems like a super interesting topic for everyone) and I knew I?d be walking to and from the train and I?d be standing all night at the show, and, again, I only knew that one song. Point being, this seemed like a much better idea several weeks ago when I got the ticket.

But I persevered. For you. And because I already paid for the ticket. And because Japandroids seem like a band I could really dig if I gave them half a shot. But mostly because I?d already paid.

I am now an old pro at the C-Train and have nothing to say about the trip there, except I juuuuuust missed the train on the way there and had to wait six whole minutes for another one. And also a train ride is an easy way to refill your Pokémon GO items.

The show was at the university in the MacEwan Ballroom, the smaller of the two venues there. It wasn?t sold out but was pretty close, I?m guessing. Tons of people there. And every other person had bought Japandroids vinyl from the looks of it.

Because I?d been less than motivated to get to the show, I dawdled and eventually missed the start of the opener, Cloud Nothings. They were way louder than I was expecting - which is dumb, because why would I expect anything, I knew nothing about them. Four guys playing straightforward, high-energy rock. I thought all of the songs sounded a bit alike, but I liked them all, so no complaints. If you like Japandroids, you?d like these guys, and vice versa. And for at least the next while, if you see one, you?ll likely see both, since it sounded like this was the first show of a seven-week tour they?d be doing together.

?I thought all of the songs sounded a bit alike, but I liked them all, so no complaints? could also be my Japandroids review. I?ll add in I liked them well enough that I still want to spend some time with their music and get to know it a bit better. Maybe go for coffee with it, and a walk by the lake. Something casual. I don?t know what the hell I?m talking about anymore.

I didn?t recognize any songs apart from The House that Heaven Built, though they mentioned that one song was called No Known Drink or Drug, which I?d at least heard of. It was good. Someone held up a sign asking for a song of their first album. I don?t know what it was called but I liked it a bunch and the crowd seemed real into it. They closed with the song I knew. It was real good. There was no encore, which seemed to disappoint people, especially those chanting ?one more song,? but I was okay with it.

Does this mean I get to go to bed?

NO. I must pad this out at least a bit. Uhh... shit. Okay. Well. I walked into the hall partway through Cloud Nothings? set and stood at the back of the crowd. Within seconds of showing up, some girl walked out of the crowd and tore her shirt off right in front of me as she went past. I?d like to say I have that effect on women all the time but the ?what the heck is happening here?? expression that was surely on my face might lead one to believe otherwise.

(I think she was just overheated. I was too, but didn?t feel that following suit would have been the best course of action for anyone. When in Rome, I?m most likely keeping my toga on.)]]>KJames199http://the-w.com/gord-downie-of-the-tragically-hip
http://the-w.com/gord-downie-of-the-tragically-hipWed, 18 Oct 2017 15:45:15 GMTLast night Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family close by.

Gord knew this day was coming ? his response was to spend this precious time as he always had ? making music, making memories and expressing deep gratitude to his family and friends for a life well lived, often sealing it with a kiss? on the lips.

Gord said he had lived many lives. As a musician, he lived ?the life? for over 30 years, lucky to do most of it with his high school buddies. At home, he worked just as tirelessly at being a good father, son, brother, husband and friend. No one worked harder on every part of their life than Gord. No one.

We would like to thank all the kind folks at KGH and Sunnybrook, Gord?s bandmates, management team, friends and fans. Thank you for all the help and support over the past two years.

Thank you everyone for all the respect, admiration and love you have given Gord throughout the years ? those tender offerings touched his heart and he takes them with him now as he walks among the stars.

Love you forever Gord.

The Downie Family

We all knew it was coming but this one still really stings.

Downie was basically a national treasure. It's pretty much a national day of mourning in Canada. I can't think of an American equivalent where you have a band who's so loved and also so tied into the national identity. Nearly half the country tuned into their farewell concert last August, and the Prime Minister was crying as he gave a statement about Downie's passing this morning, saying "we are less as a country without Gord Downie in it."

Not only did the Hip go on a final tour after announcing the terminal cancer diagnosis, but Downie spent the last year and a half recording at least two more albums and advocating for Indigenous rights and reconciliation. He knew his time had been cut short and made the most of it.

(8 replies)]]>KJames199http://the-w.com/slcr-296-arcade-fire-october-12-2017
http://the-w.com/slcr-296-arcade-fire-october-12-2017Wed, 18 Oct 2017 04:24:58 GMTI?d never seen Arcade Fire before. I only ever had one chance - they played the Odeon in Saskatoon back in... 2005, I think. Give or take a year. I didn?t pick up tickets immediately because I was supposed to spend the weekend in Canmore with family and I wasn?t sure I?d be back in time. I got back to Saskatoon from my trip around suppertime on the day of the concert, so we could have gone, but it didn?t matter; tickets had sold out pretty much instantly. The next day, I went to a record store and chatted with the owner, who said ?I hate to tell you this, but they released last-minute tickets and they were available at the door.? So it goes.

I could also take this time to complain that on that tour, they intentionally left a day between Saskatoon and Winnipeg to do a show in Regina, and nobody would book them. Which neatly sums up one of my prime complaints about Regina and why I time these trips to coincide with concerts.

Delightfully, Colin was game to take in this concert with me. Less delightfully, because this trip got scheduled so late, there weren?t a ton of great seats left. I got us a pair of the cheapest seats in the building, which I believe were still more expensive than the Odeon tickets from a decade ago. At least we were in the doors.

I made plans to meet Colin at 5:30 at Wurst, the German restaurant across the street from my grandma?s place. At 5:32, I was walking there when I saw Colin wave at me from his car, where he was stuck in traffic. I offered to race him there. I mention this because I won.

I hadn?t had German food in decades. The restaurant has been there for years and I?d never been, because eating outside the home would offend my grandma to no end. She?ll tolerate it if I?m meeting someone, but only barely. I still haven?t gone to the Indian restaurant next door and it?s been there for as long as my grandma?s lived here. Anyway, I got a schnitzel BLT (which is a normal BLT with a schnitzel also on it and you probably guessed that but did you know it was on grilled sourdough, smart guy?) and a side Caesar salad. Very tasty. Colin had a brat on a bun with soup and he said it was good, so thumbs up all around.

I?d assumed we?d walk to the Saddledome, but Colin wanted to try driving since he?d heard about a free parking trick. I was fine with this since I?ve done a ton of walking this week and my plantar fasciitis is making itself quite known. I won?t spill the beans about Colin?s plan, but I will confirm that it not only worked, but we got out of there afterwards with minimal hassle.

We showed up just as the openers, Phantogram, were starting. We got to our seats (past many signs warning us of strobe lights and ?theatrical smoke effects?) and really, they weren?t that bad. Meaning our seats. And also Phantogram, I suppose. We weren?t very close, but we could see the stage and hear everything well enough. The band was playing in the round, so we were even closer than I was expecting. There were also big screens, but they didn?t help because the band was basically exactly the same size on stage as they were on the screens, plus the screens had video effects on them so they were actually worse than just watching the stage. Whatever - I thought this was more funny than anything.

I told Mika that I didn?t think I knew any Phantogram songs, and she said ?yes you do, idiot.? Possibly not in those exact words. Okay, I thought I knew one song - You Don?t Get Me High Anymore. Listening to them in concert, I?m still pretty sure I only knew the one. I mean, there were a number of songs that sounded kinda familiar, where I was waiting for a recognizable chorus that never came. Maybe I?ve just heard enough Garbage and Evanescence and other electronic-influenced rock bands with female vocalists that I hear similarities where none exist? Colin actually knew a few of their songs and so he was basically a superfan by comparison.

My general take on Phantogram was that they were pretty good in a way where I know I?m not likely to ever go out of my way to seek more out. I mean, I enjoyed them, but I know me. I don?t make enough time for everything that I really enjoy as it is. But like I said, this was good, the sound was decent, they played the song I knew, their light show was impressive. No complaints.

As soon as they were done, a cowboy with a galaxy for a face appeared on the big screen and asked us for another round of applause for Phantogram. This completely baffled me. The cowboy would return several times throughout the break to shill t-shirts and spout bizarre non-sequiturs (?Let?s hear it for junior hockey!? or my favourite, ?I can?t legally ask if you?re ready to rumble, but I hope YOU AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARE!?). I think the cowboy may have been Colin?s favourite part of the evening. There were also weird symbols on the screens around the arena, and the screen would show ads for shirts at 100% off with an infinite time warranty - all part of the experience of this, the Infinite Content Tour.

Because the band was in the round, they had to enter down a long aisle like at a wrestling or MMA show. And in fact, they mocked up the stage to look like a boxing ring and came in to a boxing-style introduction. Apparently, Arcade Fire weighs, collectively, 2,100 pounds. If Dave ever reads this, he?ll call bullshit because how can they only weigh 2,100 pounds when they have 62 band members?

I counted 9, for the record. No sign of Karnov.

I have a weird relationship with Arcade Fire; namely, I think they?re all very talented and I love their songs, but they can also come across as artsy and pretentious and if someone punched them, I?d understand. I don?t condone it nor do I want to do it myself, but I?d understand.

All of this went out the window before the first song was done. I mean, I?m not surprised that these guys were really good, but... these guys were really good. Super talented, very versatile musicians who played (and traded) a wide range of instruments all through the night.

The band has a great stage presence too. This was a spectacle; from a visual standpoint alone, it was never not entertaining. Just to keep things interesting, they also have possibly the best big rock light show I?ve ever seen, along with a constant stream of new and creative video effects on the big screen (while still devoting lots of time to letting you actually see the musicians).

They did take the boxing ring staging down after a few songs, which was a relief, since one of the band kept bouncing off the ropes like in wrestling but those ropes were way too loose to do that safely. Dude?s gonna fall one of these days.

As for the songs, there was a big focus on their new record, of course, but there was a nice selection from all their albums. Tons of hits, but lots of variety in general. The fourth song was Here Comes the Night Time and it is not what comes to mind if you?re thinking of a song that would blow the roof off a place, but they did it. Keep the Car Running might be my favourite Arcade Fire song, which I only realized when I saw how delighted I was when they started playing it. There was a killer version of Reflektor, they closed the main set with Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out) and the encore with Wake Up... much like I felt after the New Pornographers concert, this show really hammered home to me just how much great music these guys have put out. And some really anthemic songs, which I?m totally a sucker for.

Here?s the whole setlist for anyone who cares about such things:Everything NowSigns of LifeRebellion (Lies)Here Comes the Night TimeNo Cars GoElectric BluePut Your Money on MeNeon BibleInfinite_Content (setlist.fm says this was the first time they?ve ever played this song in concert)Good God DamnKeep the Car RunningCrown of Love (first live performance of this song since 2014, according to setlist.fm)The SuburbsThe Suburbs (Continued)Ready to StartSprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)ReflektorAfterlifeCreature ComfortNeighbourhood #3 (Power Out)encore:We Don?t Deserve LoveEverything Now (Continued)Wake Up

They left the stage and walked to the back, still playing instruments while the crowd sang the singalong part from Wake Up. So yeah. This was great and Colin thought it was great and I?m pretty sure everyone there thought it was great. It made me more sad about missing that concert at the Odeon and I hate the Odeon. This was a dang fine show in what?s turning out to be a year full of them.

(4 replies)]]>KJames199http://the-w.com/slcr-295-wordfest-october-10-2017
http://the-w.com/slcr-295-wordfest-october-10-2017Tue, 17 Oct 2017 01:16:53 GMTI had a few shows already scheduled for Calgary when this thing popped up on Facebook and it sounded pretty neat. As part of a week-long festival of words by the name of Wordfest, there was a concert-slash-reading featuring musicians-slash-authors Geoff Berner, Rae Spoon, Kris Demeanor, and Caroline Connolly. There are readings and other events with all kinds of authors all week long; this particular session was called ?How to Be... Wordy & Wild? and it was at the Big Secret Theatre downtown, where I first saw Hawksley Workman?s play The God That Comes a few years back.

I didn?t catch this initially, but that ?How to Be? up there was selected because these are (mostly) the authors of the How to Be series of booklets. I am slow. But sometimes I get there eventually.

Or sometimes I get there early. The Big Secret Theatre is only two LRT stops away; for some reason, I still felt I needed to leave my grandma?s place over an hour beforehand to make sure I wasn?t late. This put me downtown with too much time to kill. I found a Tim Hortons and ordered a hot chocolate and played iPhone games until I could wander over at a more appropriate hour. The hot chocolate was both chocolatey and exceptionally hot; I wasn?t convinced it was going to cool off in time for me to make it to the show, but I powered through because I am an intrepid reporter and I am committed to my tasks. Unless I?m sleepy or it?s cold out or I just change my mind about going.

Let?s meet our authors. Klezmer punk accordionist Geoff Berner shows up regularly in these here reviews. He wrote the first volume in the series, How to Be an Accordion Player. Note that this booklet will not teach you how to play the accordion. It?s called How to Be an Accordion Player. This is an important distinction. Berner opened the event by explaining how the book series came to be; namely, they were commissioned by a shadowy, possibly Lithuanian, possible billionaire who may or may not have been in attendance.

Singer/songwriter Kris Demeanor is someone whose name I?ve heard forever but had never had the chance to see him perform before. He was Calgary?s inaugural poet laureate and he works with inner-city youth, so his booklet is titled How to Be an Asshole of Calgary.

The last time I saw Rae Spoon, it was probably 15 years ago and they were performing in the basement of a Cajun restaurant in Saskatoon. Since then, they?ve released a number of albums and gone on to widespread critical acclaim. I remember very little about that last show and I don?t have my old reviews immediately accessible (for which I?m thankful, as I probably sounded like a real dope), but I was really looking forward to the chance to see Spoon again. I also really miss that restaurant. Spoon?s booklet, the newest release of the four, is How to (Hide) Be(hind) Your Songs.

Caroline Connolly is an Alberta musician from a band called The Lovebullies. She also makes and sells gluten-free perogies, which is the noblest of callings. To the best of my knowledge, she?s never written a book. I feel like if she had, this would have come up. Carolyn Mark did, and it?s called How to Be a Boozy Chanteuse, which is how she was described in the New York Times. Mark was unable to attend, away ?at an undisclosed location, doing very important things, like her hair,? so Connolly filled in for her. Mark did send her guitar, but upon inspection, it was just a guitar case filled with wine bottles and underwear. I?ve seen Carolyn Mark a few times and I?m 100% prepared to believe that this was legitimate and not a comedy bit.

The format was pretty simple; ?like a folk festival workshop where no work gets done,? said Berner. They all took turns reading, then they read some more but also sang some songs, and then more reading and songs. The order was Berner > Connolly > Demeanor > Spoon > repeat, but folks would play and sing on each other?s songs.

You can probably infer how the readings went by the titles of the books. I mean, each booklet is about how to be something, so that?s what they talked about. And you may have also gathered that these are not super-serious instruction manuals for your life. Except maybe they should be? Spoon?s seemed the closest to being sincere, but all four authors got great laughs from the crowd - and, at times, from each other. Berner in particular has great comedic timing when telling stories.

He also nearly shot beer out his nose when Demeanor read the following lines about Calgary: ?At the time of writing, our city is going through hard times. Aleppo hard.? Demeanor?s book seems like it might have the most laugh-out-loud potential of the four.

As for the songs, Connolly kicked it off with Mark?s tune 2 Days Smug and Sober, with Demeanor on guitar (and I believe Berner on accordion for this one). I really like this song and hadn?t heard it in forever. She did a fine job even if she needed a lyric sheet for reference.

I will break here to mention that if you have Apple Music, you can search for my SLCR 2017 playlist which features most everyone I?ve seen in concert this year. I had to make the hard choices about whether or not to include 2 Days on it, since Mark didn?t actually play here, but I ruled in favour of adding it to the list since I like it. It?s good to be the guy who makes rules.

Demeanor was up next with his song Liquidation World, which he played in lieu of reading the chapter of his booklet entitled How to Shop Like an Asshole. With witty lyrics and great guitar playing, I immediately decided I like this guy.

I couldn?t add Spoon?s first song to my playlist since it isn?t being released until next year. This made me sad because it?s called Do Whatever the Fuck You Want and I think this song presents some solid life advice. It also has a bridge where they spell out exactly what the song is about, so as to avoid any sort of misinterpretation. It was observed that Born in the USA should have had a bridge for that exact purpose. Spoon also noted that the more folk festival-friendly version of the song, Do Whatever the Heck You Want, is a big hit with children. I can totally see that.

Berner?s first tune was Hustle Advisory, off his brand new record Canadiana Grotesquica. It also has plenty of f-bombs in it and I?ve caught myself humming it all day. I?m not sure grandma approves.

The next round of songs was Swang Swang (or possibly Swing Swing said with a flourish?) by Connolly, which was one of her own, not Mark?s. Demeanor had the best title of the night with his next song, The Drunk You Is You. Spoon played their song Cowboy, and Berner covered Mark?s song Edmonton, one of my favourites of hers. The mention of Edmonton actually raised a gasp from one person in the audience, which Berner called attention to (?Yes. A sharp intake of breath.?) before encouraging us all to be open to learning about other cultures.

These were all interspersed with more readings, where we learned about asshole role models, how a boozy chanteuse should dress (if police aren?t suspicious, you?re not trying hard enough), Stalin, and how you can talk about Jesus when you secretly mean Carla. There was also some audience participation as we debated the pronunciation of halcyon and deigning (which I knew) and fecund (which I?m still not certain of).

After a round of very exuberant plugs for books and upcoming concerts, Spoon closed out the show with another excellently named song, My Heart is a Piece of Garbage. Fight Seagulls! Fight! This was picked to end the show since it references the Calgary Tower, only blocks away.

They were selling stuff and signing stuff after the show, so I went on a shopping spree. I already had Berner?s booklet from long ago, so I got the other three. They were $10 each or four for $30, so I picked up a second copy of How to be an Asshole of Calgary, since Colin just moved here last year and he could probably still use some advice. Demeanor kindly signed both copies and Spoon signed theirs as well.

While I didn?t need Berner?s booklet, I did pick up his new novel, The Fiddler is a Good Woman, days before its official release. His previous novel, Festival Man, was a great read so I?m really looking forward to this one. I got it signed too because I?m a dork like that.

This whole show was a goddamn delight and I smiled the whole time. What great, talented folks. Go see them all and go buy their books.]]>KJames199http://the-w.com/slcr-294-the-new-pornographers-october-6-2017
http://the-w.com/slcr-294-the-new-pornographers-october-6-2017Mon, 16 Oct 2017 04:17:20 GMTI?m visiting my grandma again, and I scheduled the trip to coincide with some concerts again, so I have a lot of reviews to write again, and I?m doing them on the iPad again, and I don?t like finalizing them on the iPad again, so expect to get a bunch of these once I?m back. Or, as it will be called in the future, ?this week.?

Hopefully if I say that now, I?ll push myself to actually finish them all up in reasonable time. The odds of this happening seem slim.

#1 pet peeve of writing these on the iPad is not, as you might expect, the autocorrect. No, it is that my handy iPad keyboard - which is actually pretty decent - has a lock button where the backspace key would be on a full-sized keyboard. So I shut this thing down a lot. And swear. I initially wrote ?And sweat? which was a typo but was not incorrect. Also, I?ve been eating chips and it?s hard to use the fingerprint scanner when your hands are covered in shameful grease.

Another issue with the iPad is that my collection of old reviews is in a Word document on a thumb drive. Maybe while I?m here, I will get on grandma?s computer and see if I can email myself a copy that the iPad can open. Until then, I?m going off memory, or as I like to call it, ?lying.? Time for this known fantasist to impart some unlikely tales!

I believe I have seen the New Pornographers twice before. This makes three, and I was surprised and delighted to find that Heather was going to be at the show with us, since I?ve never seen the New Pornographers without her. I didn?t know she was in town until that morning and I would have suggested that she come to this except it was sold out. Luckily she already had a ticket, or knew someone, or something, I don?t know. Is this really relevant to your life?

In another irrelevant story, the last time I saw them, The Mountain Goats were the opening act. I vaguely knew the name, didn?t know anything about them, enjoyed them well enough, and promptly forgot about it. And I literally mean I forgot about it - I appreciate them more now (writing an entire album about old-timey wrestling and actually making it really good helps) and was shocked to re-read an old review and discover I?d seen them. Ask Mika and she will confirm that I full-on yelled ?what the fuck, we saw The Mountain Goats?!?

Anyway. Mika and I got to the Exchange around 7:45 and wandered inside - before most people got there but too late to have to wait in line outside. In short, we won.

They gave us wristbands so we could buy alcohol like adults and I promptly got Mika an iced tea and myself a Wild Cherry Pepsi. I then spent about 15 minutes fighting with the stupid wristband because it was on tight and I decided I?d rather have wrist freedom than booze freedom.

Getting drinks was fun. First, the bartender?s vodka bottle slipped, and in grabbing for it, he pulled the nozzle off and sent the bottle to the floor. Then someone ordered a Caesar and he added all of the component parts before realizing they were out of Clamato. He offered the customer the glass of vodka, ice, and Tabasco - I think free! - but no takers.

Mark and Arlette showed up shortly before the openers started and staked out a nice leanin? spot along the wall by the front of the stage. Mika and I, and eventually Heather, stayed back, centre stage, behind the people who were willing to shove their way to the front.

The openers were Born Ruffians. Before we went, Mika played me a few of their songs. I?m not certain, but I think they were called ?You Probably Know This One. No?? and ?I Think This One Was in a Car Commercial. Still No??

Okay, so I am not exactly ?informed.? But I know a few things - there were three of them and they play the kind of fun, slightly poppy rock that is right in my wheelhouse. I really liked them and made a vow to listen to more of them. And I?m pretty sure they played the song that may or may not have ever been in a car commercial, or maybe it was the other one, or probably both.

Between sets, Mika and Heather took off outside which was very sensible because everyone in the building was roasting. I went to chat with Mark and Arlette, who were visiting with Mark?s daughter Hayley. I mention her by name because Mark said I should. He?s been taking on more of a contributing editor role to these things of late. Too bad he won?t see this for a while - I?ve got four more reviews to write in about a week and I could use the guidance.

Anyway we had a nice chat - it?s nice when Mark can fit both concerts AND cutting up animals into his schedule. He seemed real interested in talking me into going to an upcoming psychobilly concert; I don?t know if this is because he wants to go or he just wants to see if he can talk me into doing so.

Historically, here?s how New Pornographers albums go for me:1. I listen to it2. I am nonplussed3. I listen to it some more4. Still nothing5. One song becomes a hit, or Mika plays it a bunch, or whatever - I hear it lots is the point6. It turns out that song is great7. It turns out all their songs are great

So I was surprised when I listened to the new record, Whiteout Conditions, and liked it from the get-go. That?s not supposed to happen!

I mention the album title because I need to fix my brain. Their last album was Brill Bruisers. It came out in 2014 if Apple Music is telling me the truth. Up until days before the show, I was convinced that Brill Bruisers had just come out and that the new songs I?d heard were just more singles from that album. It?s as if several years went by and I completely missed it. I?m hoping that by repeating the actual timeline I can sort myself out.

I can?t keep track of everyone in (and/or touring with) New Pornographers, but I don?t think that?s age-related feeblemindedness, they?ve just got a complicated family tree. AC Newman was there. And Kathryn Calder. Beyond that, I need to Google and I?m not about to do that.

Anyway, this was great. A nice mix of new stuff and old classics, good sound, crowd was into it despite collectively succumbing to heatstroke. The older stuff got the best reactions, as it will - Use It and Sing Me Spanish Techno were particularly crowd-pleasing, though The Jessica Numbers was the one that stuck in my head for a good long time afterwards. High Ticket Attractions, off the new record, seems like it might be one that becomes a quick favourite too. Mass Romantic, Brill Bruisers, The Laws Have Changed, The Bleeding Heart Show - I guess this means nothing to you if you don?t know the songs, but I do, and when I write them all out one after the other, I think ?these guys have just a ton of great songs.?

I can think of very little of interest surrounding this show. It sold out, I guess that's important to mention. And it was relevant upon arriving, as the drive into the parkade was ridiculous. I screamed helpful advice from the inside of my car ("POINT YOUR CAR TOWARDS THE RAMP AND THEN DRIVE UP IT") but nobody heard or heeded it. It was slow-moving mass chaos. Someone would try to park and nobody would know what to do. There was no danger of running out of spaces - the parkade has an entire extra level that nobody seems to know is there. Except me, I guess. I parked up there, above the rest of humanity, free from the maddening crowds but an observer thereof. Then I walked down the same pee-smelling stairwell as everyone else.

I had a cheap aisle seat at the back row of the balcony. The folks in my row were pleasant and didn't make me get out of their way too often. You're bored right now but I assure you this was nice. And I don't have a whole ton to talk about.

Our openers were The Mastersons, who I'd never heard of except it turned out I'd seen them before. They were two members of Earle's band last time he was in town. And this time. Earle himself opened the show by introducing them, which I thought was a really nice touch. Their songs were country-ish singer/songwriter stuff with him on guitar and her usually on guitar or fiddle. That's not saying much but I feel like you get the gist of it. The sound wasn't great for their set - the instruments were fine but the voices were mic'ed really high (so it was the opposite of my usual complaint, at least) and came in kind of shrill. Nearby fellow old people said the same thing.

Earle and his band, The Dukes - I want to say six people in total - entered the stage to the sounds of Johnny Cash's cover of Rusty Cage. Last time out, they were on the anniversary tour for Guitar Town and played the whole album start to finish. With a little more freedom in the setlist this time, I thought I might hear more songs I knew, but that didn't really happen. Instead I just got a wider variety of tunes that were new to me, along with a lot of the same hits and covers (Copperhead Road, Guitar Town, Devil's Right Hand, Hey Joe) as before. And like before, this was all real good. The vocals were a little muddy but still better than they were for The Mastersons.

Apparently, I don't have much to say. It might also be apparent that I wasn't 100% into this show. Not the band's fault - I was just kinda tired and I was ready to be done a little bit before they were. But whatever. I still had a nice time and all.

The legendary musician suffered a full cardiac arrest and was found unconscious and not breathing in his Malibu home Sunday night. He was taken to UCLA Santa Monica Hospital and put on life support, reports TMZ.

Petty rose to fame in the 1970s with his band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The group put out several hits, including "American Girl," "Free Fallin'," "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," "Breakdown," "Listen to Her Heart" and more. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

Though Petty and his band debuted their first self-titled record in 1976, they continued to perform over the past four decades. Petty played his last show last Monday, performing three sold-out shows at the Hollywood Bowl to conclude their 40th anniversary tour. The band wrote on their website that the tour included 53 shows in 24 states.

In December, Petty told Rolling Stone that he thought this would be the group's last tour together. He said, "It's very likely we'll keep playing, but will we take on 50 shows in one tour? I don't think so. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was thinking this might be the last big one. We're all on the backside of our sixties. I have a granddaughter now I'd like to see as much as I can. I don't want to spend my life on the road. This tour will take me away for four months. With a little kid, that's a lot of time."

Petty, who released three solo albums and 13 albums with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, also took part in the 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne. He told Rolling Stone he was hoping to release a deluxe version of his 1994 solo album "Wildflowers" with a bonus disc of unreleased material. He had also hoped to play a special "Wildflowers" tour.

The rocker kept his hands full with his SiriusXM channel, Tom Petty Radio, as well. He personally oversaw the station and had his own interview show called "Tom Talks to Cool People" where he interviewed musicians like Micky Dolenz of the Monkees and former Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham.

And I really thought that was as close as I'd ever come to seeing Guns N' Roses, but here we are. Remember how Mika initially really wanted to go to Bryan Adams despite having never shown any previous interest in Bryan Adams? That was kind of the situation here again. Guns N' Roses was announced for our new stadium well before Adams was, and Mika seemed real keen on going. Me? I dunno. I knew all the big hits but I also didn't care so much. But I'll go to pretty much anything for any reason, and Mika wanting to go is reason enough.

Plus, who figured this would ever happen? They were giant stars but also the textbook example of rock n' roll scandal and excess. Books have been written about their troubled history and it would take someone far more knowledgeable than me to put together the timeline of breakups, reunions, and personnel changes. The idea that they'd hit a point where something vaguely resembling the classic lineup was able to survive an entire tour together was inconceivable. But here we are.

I mentioned that I am not really a Guns N' Roses fan. Really, I shouldn't approach this like a normal review. It should be more of a fish-out-of-water piece, like when Vice sends a writer to a Trump rally or the Gathering of the Juggalos. That said, my only initial observation about G'n'R fans is that they obey no rule about not wearing the band's shirt to their own concert.

We got to the mall at about 5:30 to catch the stadium shuttle. They've finally got the get-to-the-stadium part relatively down. We were on a bus and in motion within 15 minutes. A line of similar length took an hour and 15 minutes for Bryan Adams, causing us to miss the first few songs from Our Lady Peace. This time, we got inside, walked up the ramp, and came out on our level just in time for the first few songs by Our Lady Peace.

Since tickets went on sale so long ago, I had to buy them before ever having visited our new stadium. Also, I didn't want to spend a ton of money. Folks, I have to tell you, mistakes were made. I knew we were close to the stage and up high, but we were much closer and much higher than I remembered. We were in the back row of the section, looking down on the stage from the side. The view was less than ideal. The sound, worse. And we were all the way on the opposite side of the stadium from the buses, ensuring that it would be a long wait to get home. James, this was not your finest work. In fact, I'd go so far as "catastrophic failure."

So, Our Lady Peace. I had hopes that since they'd just played here three months ago, we'd get a different set of tunes. Nope! It was almost the exact same setlist. The good news is we showed up in time to hear Naveed and Superman's Dead this time. The bad news is that the sound was worse - but again, that was a function of where we were sitting. I don't blame them for the sound. I do blame them for not mixing things up at all. Whatever. Much like last time, this was fine if not thrilling.

OLP finished at 7:00 and Guns N' Roses was scheduled to start at 7:30. Mika had been told that G'n'R was starting an hour late in each city along this tour. If anything, this seemed awfully optimistic judging by Axl Rose's long and storied past. I gave it some time for the first wave of people to disperse and at about 6:50, I left in search of food. Ridiculous lineups at every vendor, of course. For convenience's sake, I went to the one nearest our seats and got poutine since it appeared to be the only thing they sold with a lid - and I'd need that assistance when carrying the snacks back to my seat, since I also got us each a bottle of water and I wasn't allowed to keep the caps on them. It was an awkward walk back.

Anyway, my foreshadowing is never subtle and you've already figured out that Guns N' Roses started at 7:30 on the nose and I missed the first song or two. I'd tell you what they were, but I have no idea. I went into the show wondering just how many G'n'R songs I actually knew. Talking to Mika, I figured there were actually quite a few - but the sound was so muddy where we were that there were a lot of songs that sounded familiar but I couldn't quite place. She even said something similar and she's much better at Name That Tune than I am. All of the really big singles were apparent, of course - Welcome to the Jungle, November Rain, Knockin' on Heaven's Door, You Could Be Mine, stuff like that. There was an unexpected cover of Black Hole Sun, which I assume was a tribute to the late Chris Cornell. That was nice. And they played Live and Let Die with extra pyro. I've said this before but pyrotechnics are my least favourite of all the -technics, and while our seats may have sucked if we wanted to see or hear the band, they were GREAT if you wanted to be close to fireworks and other explosions. Which I assure you I did not.

I'm just gonna say this - I was not the intended audience for this show and I did not dig it at all. Everyone else I heard from loved it. Listen to them and not to me. I'm the problem here. Put me in better seats, and I'd likely have had a good time. I mean, there are all kinds of bands that I don't really care about that I'd go see just for the spectacle of it all, and this was quite a spectacle. And the songs I knew (and could make out) were enjoyable despite everything. Maybe we should have left our seats and watched the show standing on the concourse level. Lots of people sitting near us did that. Or maybe I should have just held off on buying tickets - the show didn't come close to selling out, and on the day of the show, one friend got decent seats for much cheaper than ours, and another saw $250-per-person floor seats going for around what we paid. There are multiple lessons here.

Having dealt with several bus debacles leaving the stadium, we skipped out on the encore in favour of a quicker departure (so no Paradise City for us). This turned out to be a surprisingly amusing decision since we wound up near some of the drunkest humans I've seen in quite some time. One man in particular told a loud story about how he met a lady at the show and she gave him her number and they kissed and it was his "first kiss in a looooooooong time." He then detailed his plans to continue drinking ("water's for pussies") and how he lost his hotel key but was going to talk the hotel clerk into letting him into the room even though it was under someone else's name. Then he expressed a great interest in getting some cocaine and declared that a woman he was sitting with was "the coke queen of Yorkton." He then backtracked, with a really loud and exaggerated "I'M JUST KIDDING ABOUT THAT. ONLY KIDDING." And then we got to the mall and he peed on the side of it. I avoided eye contact with Mika for the entire bus ride home because I'd have lost it otherwise. Good sir, you and your cocaine and pee salvaged my evening.

UPCOMING CONCERTS: ? The Sadies (September 14) ? BA Johnston (September 15) ? Steve Earle & The Dukes (September 27) ? The New Pornographers w/Born Ruffians (October 6) ? Whitehorse w/Terra Lightfoot (October 13) ? Sarah Slean (October 14) ? Martha Wainwright (October 22) ? David Myles w/Port Cities (October 24) ? Headstones w/SNAKEandtheCHAIN (November 17) ? Cold Specks (November 24) ? Tanya Tagaq & the Regina Symphony Orchestra (November 25)]]>KJames199http://the-w.com/slcr-291-kd-lang-august-26-2017
http://the-w.com/slcr-291-kd-lang-august-26-2017Wed, 06 Sep 2017 04:42:33 GMTSeveral months later, the Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather dream match was signed, and of course, it was on the same night as this show. Friends immediately made plans and I immediately declined them. Skipping the ridiculous sports spectacle of the year in favour of going to see k.d. lang was possibly not the most macho I've ever felt*, but I have no regrets. The fight was better than everyone was expecting, but I can't adequately describe how low that bar was set. I still haven't seen it and have no real need to.

*actually, it was about on par with every day

We got to the Conexus Arts Centre with only a little time to spare - I always show up way early and am always pleased with myself when I fight the urge and things work out alright. The place was packed - tickets sold out on the first day, with the exception of the aforementioned VIP packages. And those ones went soon after. We got inside, checked out the Stuff Table, and found our seats. I was delighted to learn that Row L For Legroom has the same legroom on either side. I was more delighted to not feel like the oldest person at a concert. Far from it - the guy sitting in front of us asked us how we got in, since it looked like there'd been an age restriction at the door.

Our openers were local duo Kacy & Clayton. You may remember them from such concert reviews as #225, when they opened for (and then played with) Ryan Boldt. Since then, they've put out at least one more album and have done some shows in the US. That's neat! I like watching people's careers progress.

This was a lot like the last time I saw them, though they didn't have any other musicians this time. He still played guitar. She still sang. They did pleasant folky songs that sounded nice if somewhat similar to one another. The sound wasn't the best and I found it hard to make out the lyrics. One song made repeated mention of the Santa Fe Trail. If you want more information than that, I don't know what to tell you. Clayton said "I see you guys have a lot of exits" which was funny but then I was distracted by just how many glowing red exit signs there are there. I suppose it beats not having enough. And now I'm distracted again.

The problem with aisle seats is dealing with all the people passing by you, so we headed out into the lobby for the intermission. Don't let the change in location fool you - we did the same stuff as ever; namely, showed each other cute animal pictures (and occasional Japanese foods) on Instagram. We're a thrill to hang out with and I don't know why we aren't surrounded by hangers-on at all times.

This tour was to mark the 25th anniversary of k.d. lang's album, ingénue. These shows usually make me feel old but I can't say I was a huge fan of lang's at the time, so it didn't have any effect on me. And to be fair, I didn't see many 16-year-old boys at this show either. Anyway, lang was - of course - playing the album all the way through. I'd assumed I'd heard the album a bunch since my mom had it, but I only really knew the two singles. It turns out that it's a well-designed album for these kinds of anniversary tours, since you get the first single Miss Chatelaine three songs in, and the big hit, Constant Craving, is the very last track. I wonder how often that happens. It has to be rare, doesn't it, where the album's big hit is the very last song? Now I want to go look at all my CDs. Where are my CDs? What are CDs?

Anyway, that album ain't that long - I didn't mean to use "ain't" there but I'm not changing it now - so she played a few more of her own songs before closing the main set with three covers of Canadian artists. You likely know which ones. The crowd did, with one guy yelling "HALLELUJAH" as soon as she said she was going to do a few covers, and someone else yelling "JONI MITCHELL" a few words into lang's story about playing Mitchell's song in front of her. I thought "I bet the third will be Neil Young" and it was. She has her go-tos.

When that dude yelled for Hallelujah, she said "I'm not sure how to take that" and everyone laughed. And I get it; if you shout out "Hallelujah!" people will think you're REAL into whatever you were just told. But I wonder if it's weird for her. She's more than accomplished as a songwriter in her own right, but the song that's become her trademark is someone else's. And she wasn't the first to do it in that style - her version is more Cale or Buckley than Cohen. Who knows. Maybe that's not something she'd care about. Just thinking out loud here. Except written down. But you know.

With an 8:00 p.m. start time, we drove up to Saskatoon in the afternoon. The drive was uneventful, though not exceptionally well-timed on my part. Had we left earlier, we could have had dinner before the show. Later, and we could have just gone straight there. Instead, we parked downtown on a Sunday evening with just enough time to kill to be irritating. Eventually, we wandered over to Starbucks for a coffee and an iced tea, respectively, ensuring we'd be appropriately mildly caffeinated for the concert. I think the kids call this "pre-drinking."

Walking towards TCU Place, we passed people leaving with armloads of Beck merchandise. Once inside, we could see that the Stuff Table was doing booming business. There was nothing particularly unique - shirts, vinyl, hats - but people were snapping it up. I didn't bother getting anything.

We hung out in the lobby for a bit and watched people before taking our seats. I didn't feel particularly old or young - I think we were decidedly average as far as the crowd went. I suppose that would make sense - Beck's been making music for a long time. Loser, his first big hit, came out when I was in Grade 9. And I've never really understood how he had such a successful career after that one. Which is not any kind of commentary on his talent - it's just weird that a guy could have a massive hit with what was almost a novelty song and still be popular over 25 years later. That song was perfect one-hit wonder fodder but he managed to avoid that trap.

A few days before the show, they announced that McRorie would be the opening act. Do you know who McRorie is? I did not. I meant to do internet research before the show, but kept forgetting. Finally, I watched five seconds of a video of what looked like a one-man band before getting distracted and never going back to it. Internet video is a wonderful innovation that is completely wasted on me. That said... I pretty much got it? McRorie is, indeed, a one-man band. He wore a black kilt with two keyboard-type instruments slung over his hips like holsters. There were drum pads on his feet that played when he stomped or walked. There were also drum pads on his chest that he could hit. His arms were wired up so that when he brought one arm up, cymbals crashed. He could also apply any number of filters on his voice. And I think he might have been wearing Google Glass. If this does not sound amazing to you, we can no longer be friends.

For the most part he did covers, ranging from Fight for Your Right to Sunday Morning Coming Down to Gin & Juice to Rockin' in the Free World to Hallelujah, which lent itself especially well to a stomping lunatic with a robot voice punching himself in the chest:

In a few nights we will see kd lang and she will surely perform Hallelujah and it will be great but in such a different way. You don't want to know how much I'd pay to see the two of them do the song together.

He also did a few originals. One was called Cowboys Take Drugs Too and was about exactly that. I think he said he wrote that in Plunkett, which is the smallest of small Saskatchewan towns and yet somehow this still makes perfect sense. Another, his closing number, was called Nuclear Party Song, a worryingly timely number about partying being the only sensible thing to do while the bombs fall. Those who party the hardest will survive the nuclear holocaust. Based on our volume when yelling "PARTY," our section was deemed likely to survive, so we've got that going for us.

During the break, Mika and I did what we always do - showed each other cute animal pictures that our respective friends posted on Instagram. We've got a lot of concerts coming up and a lot of mutual friends, so if I follow you on Instagram and she doesn't, be a pal and post some cute animal pics, okay?

Beck and his band hit the stage a few minutes after 9:00 and launched right into Devils Haircut. Beck is kind of a weird one for me - I'll get really into one album and then skip one entirely. I had no idea what this show would be like and I knew there was a chance that I'd only know a handful of songs. But this was not the case! It was almost as if he skipped everything that I did. Not only did he play most of the big singles, but there were five songs from my favourite album of his, Guero. That surprised me because it's not one I ever hear people list among his best, but whatever, it worked out great for me. We got Black Tambourine, Qué Onda Güero, Go It Alone, Girl, and E-Pro, all great. Girl has been stuck in my head ever since.

setlist.fm is a delightful resource for concerts. It's also sometimes very wrong, but this looks pretty accurate to me. I added the album titles for my own interest.

He opened with five straight songs I knew before starting to get into the stuff that was less familiar to me. Not that this mattered - this was a fantastic show from start to finish. Beck has great energy and his band was killer. For the songs I knew, he blew away the album versions. And all the ones that were new(ish) to me were great too. I love those shows where I leave as a bigger fan than when I came in. This one gave me new appreciation for everything I already liked and made me want to seek out everything of his that I didn't already know.

Though it lists three songs for the encore, they really all blended into each other, ending with more of Where It's At and also encompassing Beck's introductions of his band. Most of the musicians had a chance to solo - the drummer started his with the good part from In the Air Tonight, always appropriate and appreciated.

This was Beck's first time in Saskatoon and he seemed genuinely surprised by how loved he was. When he mentioned he'd never played there before, people cheered and it seemed like they weren't about to stop. Later on, he messed up the words to one of his newer songs because "I've never heard people clap along to that one before." Everyone sang along wherever they could, the "na na, na na na, na naaaa" parts of E-Pro and - of course - the chorus of Loser being especially popular. People stood for the whole show. We tried staying seated, since we had pretty much the best view in the house already and didn't feel the need to hinder the folks behind us, but one dude to Mika's left was really into dancing into her way so I wound up politely shoving him aside and we stood for the second half of the show. I didn't mind at all.

It wasn't that short a show but still felt like it was over too soon, and then we were back on the road. We got home around 2:00 a.m. and - if you can believe it - even had to stay off the internet until the next afternoon, when we'd caught up on TV we missed. A crushing sacrifice but well worth it.